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'Grandma, my mom is really dead'

At his grandmother's door, a boy offers an account of a chilling crime.

PORT CHARLOTTE -- It was the barking of her dogs that alerted Joyce Huss to the presence of someone at her Longwood home Wednesday morning.

When Huss opened the door, she could barely believe her eyes: Her 9-year-old grandson was standing on her porch in a bloody shirt, holding onto a small suitcase that had in it a computer and a nine-page letter written by Huss' son, Scott Huss, who had driven away.

CHARLOTTE COUNTY -- Tears stream down her face. When the pain seems too great, Elena Kuchinskaya thinks of her grandchildren and pushes on.

For nearly a month, she has tried to wend her way through the legal system with little knowledge of the English language and even less of the state and local agencies involved in her fight for custody of her two grandchildren.

"Every day is hard," said Kuchinskaya, 49. "What I feel? What can I say? I cry every single day."

It has been that way since she learned of her daughter's slaying -- two long days after Yana Huss was found dead, her throat slashed as her 8-year-old son watched. Her husband, Scott Huss, has been charged with the crime. His arraignment is set for June 18.

Peter, and his 2-year-old sister, Katrina, are in foster care.

Kuchinskaya, a Russian citizen who lives in Holland, knew about her daughter's troubled marriage. They talked so often that the mother knew what Yana and her children ate for dinner. She knew Yana, a nursing student, had two final exams weighing heavily on her mind in the last week of her life.

Monday, she went to yet another court hearing in the murder case, yet another delay.

Having participated coming in the middle of a domestic dispute between a woman and her estranged husband, I have to say... if there is a hint of violence, there's no way to tell how far that violence will go. Seek help and distance yourself immediately from the perpetrator. They will only continue to do more violence against you. Even verbal threats need to be taken seriously.

Let me tell you a story. I dated this woman where she had filed for divorce from her husband. Before going through the divorce, he proceeded to smash out all her windows of her car and beat her a few times. This happened within a week's time. She was going to buy a gun and I talked her out of it. One night, she was really worried that he was going to come by again so I went over thier with a louisville slugger. Lo and Behold, the guy came into the house (he had a key) and came charging at me with a flashlight. I barely was able to duck as he hit the back wall with it. I pinned him against the wall (I'm a big guy and he was like 5'7"). I had her take my keys to drive away. I made the mistake of releasing him and he went after her and started beating her. I almost tossed him out the window, but threw him down to the ground. As we got away, she kept crying "he's never been like that in all the years I've known him".

Having participated coming in the middle of a domestic dispute between a woman and her estranged husband, I have to say... if there is a hint of violence, there's no way to tell how far that violence will go. Seek help and distance yourself immediately from the perpetrator. They will only continue to do more violence against you. Even verbal threats need to be taken seriously.

Let me tell you a story. I dated this woman where she had filed for divorce from her husband. Before going through the divorce, he proceeded to smash out all her windows of her car and beat her a few times. This happened within a week's time. She was going to buy a gun and I talked her out of it. One night, she was really worried that he was going to come by again so I went over thier with a louisville slugger. Lo and Behold, the guy came into the house (he had a key) and came charging at me with a flashlight. I barely was able to duck as he hit the back wall with it. I pinned him against the wall (I'm a big guy and he was like 5'7"). I had her take my keys to drive away. I made the mistake of releasing him and he went after her and started beating her. I almost tossed him out the window, but threw him down to the ground. As we got away, she kept crying "he's never been like that in all the years I've known him".

So things haven't changed since the 70's except now it's out in the open. Back when I was growing up they wouldn't even come to the house because it was domestic. Now they come out but their hands are tied. Same thing happens....nothing.

"It's a shame. You don't know whether it could have been prevented. The victim does have some responsibility to seek help ... She could have gone to CARE (Center for Abuse and Rape Emergencies) and gotten help."

That quote hurts. Sounds like blaming the victim, esp when in another story it says she was sleeping in a shelter and in a day care because she was afraid. There was some mention of CARE knowing about her and the situation so I'm gathering she may have contacted them.

Why were the charges dropped so many times? What is the victim to do if the laws don't support the victim? Live on the run?

The poor little boy, having to live with what he's seen. That's terrible.

One story told to me is that the baby girl (2) was pretty much listless after her mother's murder UNTIL the arrival of Elena....hearing the Grandmother's accent, that was very similar to her mother's voice, stimulated her.

The murder of 31-year-old Russian immigrant Yana Huss at her Port Charlotte home in April ripped a mother away from her two young children.

And it may ultimately separate the two children from each other.

That's because the youngest of the children, Katrina Huss, 2, was born in the United States, and her American grandmother, Joyce Huss of Longwood, Fla., believes the toddler should remain here with her.

But the children's Russian grandmother, who now lives in Holland with her family, is also seeking custody of both Katrina and her 8-year-old brother, Peter.

The child of a previous marriage, Peter was born in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Ultimately, a local judge will decide where to place the children, and whether to place an ocean between them.

Joyce Huss is the mother of Yana's husband, Scott Huss, 48, who has been charged with second-degree murder in his wife's death.

So things haven't changed since the 70's except now it's out in the open. Back when I was growing up they wouldn't even come to the house because it was domestic. Now they come out but their hands are tied. Same thing happens....nothing.

"It's a shame. You don't know whether it could have been prevented. The victim does have some responsibility to seek help ... She could have gone to CARE (Center for Abuse and Rape Emergencies) and gotten help."

That quote hurts. Sounds like blaming the victim, esp when in another story it says she was sleeping in a shelter and in a day care because she was afraid. There was some mention of CARE knowing about her and the situation so I'm gathering she may have contacted them.

Why were the charges dropped so many times? What is the victim to do if the laws don't support the victim? Live on the run?

The poor little boy, having to live with what he's seen. That's terrible.

Knowing that our Sheriff gave that quote hurts.....BTW - The Care Center's location is known to all.....even Perp's looking for their victim.

Actually, I am confused about the kids. Where are they. I see the mention of Peter and Katrina, but what about the older child?

I believe the older child is still with his paternal grandparents, or am I mis-remembering and they are all in foster care? ETA: There are only two children, not three? Peter (the child who saw his mother's death) and his 2 year old sister are in foster care, according to this article.

I believe the older child is still with his paternal grandparents, or am I mis-remembering and they are all in foster care? ETA: There are only two children, not three? Peter (the child who saw his mother's death) and his 2 year old sister are in foster care, according to this article.

OK, thanks. I thought from the first article that there were 3 kids. Looks like there are only two. What a sad story.